


Surprise

by CelticKnot



Series: Mass Effect Fictober 2019 [19]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fictober 2019, Gen, MEFFictober2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 03:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21092462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticKnot/pseuds/CelticKnot
Summary: MEFFictober prompt: Trick or treat. Set in the timeline ofThe Paths We Are Given,Part 4: "All I Ever Wanted." Kolyat has a surprise for Shepard.





	Surprise

_ I frown at the holo. “What’s all this?” _

_ Shepard chuckles fondly. “‘All this’ was only the best Halloween decorations in town,” she says. “My parents’ house was  _ the  _ stop for trick-or-treaters every year. You can’t tell from the picture, but there were hidden speakers playing spooky noises, blinking lights, and some of the little creatures moved. One year, they even had a fog machine. I always used to dream about doing the same thing with my house one day.” _

_ “Well, now you can,” I say. I’ve been reading about this “Halloween” holiday, and though I still don’t entirely understand it, it seems to be an important community tradition here. And maybe it can help draw Shepard out of her isolation. _

_ But she shakes her head. “I don’t know, Kolyat. Maybe next year. I don’t think I’m up to all that just now.” _

* * *

_ “Hey, Chen, can I ask you something?” _

_ Chen closes his locker and leans against it. “What’s up, Krios?” _

_ “I could use your help with a project.” I show him the old holo. “Can you tell me where I can find all this?” _

* * *

Shepard checked the time, sighed dramatically, and stood. “Well, I guess it’s time for me to go get my head shrunk again. Later, Kolyat.”

He’d long since given up trying to understand that particular metaphor for her therapy. And today, he wasn’t even really thinking about it. He had a plan to set into motion. “Making a day of it again?” he asked casually. Her therapist’s office was half an hour away in Caer Sidi, so she often took the opportunity to run other errands.

“Eh, I’ll probably grab some lunch while I’m out, do a little shopping, but I really don’t have much on the docket this week.”

_ Damn it.  _ His plan counted on her being out of the house for a few hours at least. He racked his brain for an excuse to keep her in the city a little longer. “Isn’t that vid you wanted to see showing now?” he asked.  _ “The Night Circus _ ? You’ve got the time, maybe you could catch it while you’re out.”

“Hmm, maybe.” Shepard studied him with narrowed eyes. “Any particular reason you’re so interested in what I’m doing today?”

Kolyat gave her his best blankly innocent face. “No. I just know you’ve been wanting to see it.”

She held his gaze for a moment, suspiciously, then shrugged. “Okay, maybe I will.” She picked up her jacket and shrugged it on. “See you, buddy.”

“See you. Let me know when you’re on your way home.”

Shepard paused and eyed him again. “Yeah, okay.”

* * *

Her therapy appointment went about as well as it ever did, and the movie was truly fantastic. Shepard almost forgot about Kolyat’s strange behavior until she went to leave the city. She sent him a brief text message.  _ On my way. _

He didn’t answer, and she spent the entire trip back wondering what he could be planning. And when he met her at the bus station, the self-satisfied smirk on his face did nothing to calm her curiosity.

“Hey, buddy,” she said cautiously. “What are you up to?”

He only blinked at her innocently. “Up to?” he asked. “Not much. Just walking you home.” He held out his arm. “Shall we?”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” But she slipped her arm through his and allowed him to lead her down the path toward their home.

He stopped before they rounded the last corner, looking distinctly nervous, but excited. “So… you’re right, I’ve been up to something. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Oh?”

He took a deep breath and bounced a little on the balls of his feet. “Come look.”

They rounded the corner—

—and at first, Shepard couldn’t process what she was seeing. A dream, or a memory. Both, maybe. No way was it all real.

Wisps of artificial spiderweb streamed from bare tree branches. Tombstones with tongue-in-cheek epitaphs stood in artfully crooked rows on the lawn. Orange, green, and purple lights lit thick white mist with eerily blinking colors, cut through with menacing shadows. Inexpertly carved but still adorable jack-o-lanterns grinned jauntily from the porch. And on the front door hung a black and silver sign proclaiming  _ “The Witch Is In.” _

Shepard’s jaw dropped open as she took it all in. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Kolyat… did you do this?”

Kolyat tucked his hands behind his back and stood a little straighter. All of a sudden, he looked very much like his father--except for that smirk. That was all Kolyat. “Trick or treat, Shepard.”


End file.
